2007 Honorary Degree
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She has spent her entire professional career in Fort Wayne, starting as a classroom teacher and advancing through the ranks to become superintendent of Fort Wayne Community Schools 30 years later. She now oversees the second-largest public school district in Indiana with 53 schools, a regional vocational center, two cutting-edge early childhood centers and a comprehensive transportation system that logs 3.5 million miles each school year as it services the needs of 32,000 students and 4,500 staff members.
Born in Birmingham, Ala., and raised in Fort Wayne, Dr. Robinson went to DePauw University and earned her bachelor's degree in elementary education in 1973. She started teaching that fall at Ward Elementary School in Fort Wayne.
While at Ward, she started working on her master's in elementary education at Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne and earned the degree in 1978. She became assistant principal at Memorial Park Middle School in 1986 and moved to Weisser Park Elementary in the same capacity the following year and to Price Elementary as principal in 1988. Meanwhile, she remained a student herself, continuing to take classes at IPFW and added a master's in school administration to her resume in 1990.
After three years at Price, Dr. Robinson moved to the administrative offices, where she developed a vision and mission for the school system. She was elevated to assistant to the superintendent in 1994, deputy superintendent in 1995, and, after receiving her doctorate in educational administration from Ball State University in 1996, was selected as superintendent in 2003.
Dr. Robinson's civic involvement includes serving on the board of Junior Achievement, Parkview Hospital, Fort Wayne/Allen County Economic Development Alliance, Invent Tomorrow, and Leadership Fort Wayne. She is a member of nine other education-oriented associations, councils, and committees.
She has won several honors and awards recognizing her dedication and leadership in serving the people of Fort Wayne.
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